2009 Tournament
Three years had passed since WMMR began the tournament, and twice the 70's winner had emerged on top, with one very bizarre result in the middle year and a newbie winning it. Pearl Jam had finally been subdued, and Metallica lost each year in the end. Could the middle years win a tournament? Based on one shocking result in the semi's, yes. 2009's bracket was set up much in the same was 2008's was, and the tournament was run the same way. No innovation, nothing weird. After some snags in the first two years, the station felt they had gotten things down to a science, and stuck with the formula they had. The tournament had its share of odd upsets, and we finished with a new champion. Significant Info * 70's winner: Pink Floyd * 80's winner: Metallica * 90's winner: Tool * 00's winner: Linkin Park * Tournament champion: Metallica * Biggest upset: (13) Grateful Dead over (4) Aerosmith, (3) Nickelback over (14) The White Stripes, Tool over Pink Floyd (semifinals) * Voting was conducted the same way as in 2008, with text and phone votes each comprising 50% of the ballot, and text votes consisting of strictly the number 1 or the number 2. 70's Region analysis Leading up to that point, both Bob Marley and the Grateful Dead staged an upset in round 1, reminiscent of their previous tournament history. Given that, it was extremely hard to predict who would win that match-up in round 2. Marley advanced, but was no match for Zeppelin. For the second year, Queen won two rounds rather than dropping out right away. However, true to form, the Rolling Stones did drop out right away, which is probably the main reason why Queen was able to win their second round more easily than their first, as Hendrix never goes down without a fight, but drawing David Bowie in the second round? In the third year of PF vs LZ bracket finals, Pink Floyd pulled ahead in their rivalry and won the bracket. 80's Region analysis The three biggest performers in the 80's up until now were Metallica, Bon Jovi, and Tom Petty. They typically won until encountering one another. So with all three on the upper half of the bracket, we got exactly what was expected -- Petty vs Bon Jovi in round 2, and the winner losing to Metallica in round 3. But who would be their last obstacle to victory? The lower half of the bracket was almost by the numbers, except that Ozzy had to throw a wrench in the works. Ozzy, starting in the 7/10 match-up for the third year, would avenge his 2007 loss to G'N'R and then oust U2 before losing his concentration and entering the third round in an incoherent stupor. AC/DC, the eternal 3 seed, finished a better-than-average year for them by pushing past the madman and giving us an entertaining bracket final, but Metallica still had their number. Once again, Metallica was unstoppable within their own bracket, and it would appear to be up to Pink Floyd to stop them again. 90's Region anaylsis Last year, Tool defeated Pearl Jam in round 2, which was a bit of a surprise, but it was understandable that eventually PJ would lose. Pearl Jam was still the favorite, and Tool still beat them in round 2 again in 2009, clearly stronger than the 8 seed they were tagged with for two consecutive years. Excepting Tool, the higher seed won in every single match-up in the 90's. That doesn't mean there wasn't any surprise or controversy. Following Tool's round 2 victory, Tool fans recognized the winner of the very next match-up between Nirvana and Stone Temple Pilots would be facing Tool in the following round. In an effort to give themselves an easier round 3, since perhaps the only remaining band that could stop them was Nirvana, they anti-voted for STP. Whether or not it was Tool fans throwing the vote or not, STP would go on to win, and Pearl Jam fans, ever the loyal supporters of things Seattle, would be incensed. They would respond by voting for STP in round 3 in an attempt to throw things back the other way, however STP was not a strong enough opponent, and the hate vote could not turn the tide. The only other surprise in the 90's was that the Chili Peppers actually did some damage for a change, and as a result, Alice in Chains was held to just one victory for the first time. 00's Region analysis The 2000's bracket would return the same 1 and 2 seeds, and once again we appeared poised for potentially another showdown between Foo Fighters and Linkin Park after two rounds. Or maybe we were about to get a rematch of the '06 bracket finals between Godsmack and Disturbed. In actuality, we split the difference. Disturbed beat the Foo Fighters, but Godsmack lost to Linkin Park. Both repeat pairings were smashed, and it would be Linkin Park that would emerge in their showdown with Disturbed. Nothing of remark happened in the first two rounds of the bracket, except that Nickelback finally won a match, making the Rolling Stones officially the worst underperformers in M-M-Rch Madness. Favorite Four It was shaping up for a rematch of the '06 finals. Metallica beat Linkin Park, and Pink Floyd beat Tool to...er, wait. What? No? Tool did what Pearl Jam could not three years previous, and gave everyone the surprise of the tournament by knocking Pink Floyd out of the finals. I regret that I did not actually get to hear this match myself, so if anyone with memory on the proceedings can write on the topic, I would very much like to hear it. It should be noted that in 2006, Pink Floyd beat Led Zeppelin to win the 70's bracket, and went on to beat Metallica and win the tournament. Likewise, in 2008, Led Zeppelin beat Pink Floyd to win the 70's, and went on to beat Metallica and win the tournament. Without a 70's bracket winner to face, who was going to stop Metallica? TOOL?? Well, if Breaking Benjamin can win the tournament, certainly anyone can, and Tool is a much more qualified candidate than Breaking Benjamin. They had already beaten Pearl Jam, already beaten Pink Floyd, so why not Metallica? However, they were out-heavied. All of their previous match-ups were against opponents that don't rock quite as hard as Tool does, but Metallica split Tool's fanbase, and had the loyalty of all the neutral voters. Pink Floyd would have a chance by not having a similiar sound, but although Tool's style is nothing like Metallica's, the writing was on the wall. Category:Tournament Recaps